Westin Hotels & Resorts

Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of December 31, 2018, the Westin Brand has 223 hotels with 82,153 rooms in multiple countries.[1]

"Westin" redirects here. For the surname, see Westin (surname).
Westin Hotels & Resorts
Subsidiary
IndustryHotel
Founded1930 (1930)
FounderSevert W. Thurston, Frank Dupar
HeadquartersStamford, Connecticut, United States
Number of locations
223 (December 31, 2018)[1]
Area served
Worldwide
ParentMarriott International
SubsidiariesElement by Westin
Websitewestin.marriott.com/

History

Western Hotels

In 1930, Severt W. Thurston and Frank Dupar of Seattle, Washington met unexpectedly during breakfast at the coffee shop of the Commercial Hotel in Yakima, Washington. The competing hotel owners decided to form a management company to handle all their properties, and help deal with the crippling effects of the ongoing Great Depression.[2] The men invited Peter and Adolph Schmidt, who operated five hotels in the Puget Sound area, to join them, and together they established Western Hotels.[2] The chain consisted of 17 properties - 16 in Washington and one in Boise, Idaho.[2]

Western Hotels expanded to Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon in 1931, to Alaska in 1939, and then to California in 1941, assuming management of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. By the early 1950s, Western also had properties in Montana and Utah.[2]

Western Hotels executive Edward Carlson convinced Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron to open his first franchised Trader Vic's location in the chain's Benjamin Franklin Hotel in Seattle in 1949. Originally a small bar named The Outrigger, it was expanded into a full restaurant in 1954 and renamed Trader Vic's in 1960.[3] Due to the restaurant's success, Bergeron worked with Western Hotels to open Trader Vic's locations in a number of their hotels.

Western expanded to Hawaii in 1956, with the acquisition of the Hawaiian Village Hotel from Henry J. Kaiser.

Early management developed each property individually. After more than two decades of rapid growth, many of its properties were merged into a single corporate structure in 1958, focusing on bringing the hotels together under a common chain identity.[2] Also in 1958, Western Hotels assumed management of three hotels in Guatemala, its first properties outside the US and Canada. Western opened its first hotel in Mexico in 1961. In March of that same year, they opened the first hotel to be both constructed and owned by the chain, The Bayshore Inn in Vancouver.[4]

Edward Carlson became President of the chain in 1960 and is credited with bringing the Century 21 Exposition to Seattle in 1962.[5] Carlson's own napkin sketch of a tower with a revolving restaurant on top, inspired by his visit to the Stuttgart TV Tower, was the origin of the Space Needle.[6] The chain managed the restaurant atop the Space Needle from its opening until 1982.[7] Western Hotels also managed a floating hotel aboard the ocean liner QSMV Dominion Monarch, docked in Seattle harbor during the fair.[7]

Western International Hotels

The company was renamed Western International Hotels in January 1963,[2] to reflect its growth outside the US. That same year, the company went public.

From November 1, 1965[2] to 1970, Western International had an agreement with Hotel Corporation of America (today known as Sonesta), under which all 72 hotels of the two chains were jointly marketed as HCA and Western Hotels.[8]

From 1968–1973, Western International had a similar joint marketing agreement with UK-based Trust House Hotels.

In 1970, Western International was acquired by UAL Corporation, with Edward Carlson becoming president and CEO of UAL, Inc and United Airlines.

Western International bought New York's iconic Plaza Hotel in 1975 for $25 million.[9]

Westin Hotels

On January 5, 1981, the company changed its name again to Westin Hotels (a contraction of the words Western International).[10] The chain's flagship Washington Plaza Hotel in Seattle was the first property in the chain to be rebranded, becoming The Westin Hotel on September 1, 1981.[11] That same year, Westin opened a new corporate headquarters directly across the street in the Westin Building, which shared a parking garage with the hotel.[12]

In 1987, UAL Chairman Richard Ferris announced a plan to reorganize UAL as Allegis Corporation, a travel conglomerate based around United Airlines, Hertz Rent a Car, Hilton Hotels, and Westin and linked by Apollo. This strategy failed, however, and Westin was sold in 1988 to Aoki Corporation of Japan.

In 1994 Aoki sold Westin to Starwood Capital, real estate investment firm and parent of Starwood Lodging, and Goldman Sachs, an investment bank. In 1998 Starwood assumed full ownership of the company.[2]

Westin claims to have been the first hotel chain to introduce guest credit cards (in 1946), 24-hour room service (1969), and personal voice mail in each room (1991).[13]

21st Century

In the early 21st century, Westin focused on global expansion. Since 2005, the number of hotels grew from 120 locations in 24 countries to over 192 locations in 37 countries as of 2013.

Westin markets certain amenities available in its properties to the public under the brand name Heavenly. In 2005, Westin became the first hotel company to gain a national retail store presence when Nordstrom started carrying the Heavenly Bed line in more than 60 stores.

Westin refreshed its partnership with United Airlines in 2008. United began offering pillows and blankets from Westin's Heavenly Bed line on select United premium service routes between New York City and California, as well as Westin decorations and scents in some Red Carpet Club lounges.[14] These amenities were stopped following the merger with Continental Airlines. Beginning in 2013, Delta Air Lines began an extensive partnership with Westin and Starwood Hotels, which included adding Westin Heavenly In-flight Bedding to all Delta One seats on international flight as well as transcontinental flights.[15]

In 2016, Marriott International acquired Starwood, becoming the world's largest hotel company. Marriott completed the acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts on Sep 23, 2016 for $13 billion. [16]

Notable hotels

References
  1. Marriott International, Inc. (March 1, 2019). "United States Securities and Exchange Commission FORM 10-K - Annual Report … For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2018". Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. "Westin Hotels and Resorts, The J. Wm. Keithan Archives, 1905–2004". Washington State University Libraries. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. Flood, Chuck (18 September 2017). Lost Restaurants of Seattle. ISBN 9781439662625.
  4. "Westin Hotels and Resorts Worldwide - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Westin Hotels and Resorts Worldwide". www.referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  5. Becker, Paula (January 5, 2005). "Carlson, Edward "Eddie" E. (1911-1990)". HistoryLink. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. Stein, Alan J.; Becker, Paula (October 15, 2011). "They wrote the book on Seattle's World's Fair". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  7. "World's Fair". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, WA. March 19, 1962. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. "Newspapers.com search". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  9. "Western Hotels Co. Buying the Plaza For $25‐Million". November 13, 1974 – via www.nytimes.com.
  10. "Western International Hotels, one of America's leading hotel management..." UPI. January 5, 1981. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  11. http://www.historylink.org/File/1247
  12. http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/3222/
  13. "Westin History". Starwood Hotels. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  14. Everson, Darren (February 19, 2008). "February Special: A 29th Day to Save". The Wall Street Journal.
  15. "The BusinessElite Experience". Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  16. "Marriott buys Starwood, becoming world's largest hotel chain". CNBC. 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
  17. "The Westin makes Singapore comeback today". TTGmice. November 12, 2013.
  18. Arnold, Helen (March 25, 2012). "World's 15 most expensive hotel suites". CNN Travel. CNN. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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